Charity sector chief executive pay fell by 9 per cent in the year to March 2014, according to an annual pay survey published today by the charity leaders’ network, Acevo.
The Pay Survey 2014/15 released in conjunction with Charities Aid Foundation, reports a drop in median chief executive pay of £5,000 - from £60,000 down to £55,000. The figure represents a real-term decrease of 9 per cent.
A total of 636 people took part in the survey. Some 572 of those responses came from chief executives while 64 came from chairs.
The figures cover chief executive pay for the year to March 2014, and are compared to pay in the same period the previous year.
The highest average chief executive pay was reported in London at £68,000, while Welsh counterparts earned the lowest average figure at £37,849.
Sir Stephen Bubb, chief executive of Acevo, said the fall in salary reflects the “impact of a difficult economic and political situation”.
“This year’s pay survey shows the scale of the challenge for the third sector in its continuing drive to be more representative of the communities it serves,” he said.
“The fact pay has fallen shows how charities are taking a responsible position on pay in difficult economic times. But we must not be afraid of setting professional pay levels and arguing the case for salaries that recruit and retain the best people – as well as offering value for money.”
But Bubb warns that a greater number of smaller charities were included in the survey than the previous year which slightly altered the final statistics.
"Nevertheless the survey shows the impact of a difficult economic and political situation," he said.
The survey found that all the chairs who responded to the survey were of white ethnicity. Some 91.2 per cent of chief executives said the same.
The survey found that gender pay gaps fell slightly from last year, across all charities, with median female pay 16.3 per cent lower than median male pay which stood at 18.6 per cent last year.
Commenting on the survey, Jenny Berry, director of leadership and director of Acevo North said: “Social leaders consistently tell us this is one of the most valuable resources we produce. It informs trustees, staff and beneficiaries about senior pay in the third sector.
"It informs the work Acevo’s doing to promote wider representation of its beneficiaries across the charity sector, through our Special Interest Groups on Women Leaders and Black and Minority Ethnic Leaders amongst other programmes."
Acevo originally reported that chief executive salaries fell by 5.9 per cent over the past year, but have confirmed that the figure now stands at 9 per cent.
